Today's Edition
AHMED ABDEL AZIZ (ABU DHABI)
SAKINA has urged Emiratis and UAE residents to prioritise their mental health, emphasising that mental wellbeing plays a fundamental role in physical health and preventing chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and elevated blood sugar levels.
In an interview with Aletihad, Dr Nahida Nayaz Ahmed, Chief Medical Officer of SEHA's SAKINA, said: "Mental health has received increased attention in recent years, which is rightly so due to the environment we live in, the pressures of the digital era, the type of stress we face, and the lifestyle that we have adopted."
She added: "Unfortunately, people are unaware of the significant impact psychological well-being has on our health. For example, unhealthy lifestyle habits and poor choices or neglect of mental wellbeing can result in prolonged stress, which translates into burnout, that further precipitates poor physical health."
Dr Ahmed noted that people are at high risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and high blood sugar levels."
Failing to address the mental illness can result in poor health outcomes and potential disability from physical and mental illnesses. It is time people recognise that mental and physical health are inseparable," she said.
"There are harmful misconceptions surrounding mental health, such as mental illnesses are from 'lack of faith' or 'weakness of will', and that all psychiatric medications are 'addictive', thereby worsening the stigma around mental health. While in fact, mental illnesses are like any other illnesses, that can come with a huge amount of morbidity and sometimes mortality as well."
She added: "So this unfortunately precludes people from seeking mental health, and this results in people ending up with very much advanced cases of mental illnesses, which becomes difficult to treat and potentially refractory to treatment."
Three-Pillar Approach
With 500 trained professionals across more than 40 primary care satellites, two subspeciality hubs, two inpatient hospitals with capacity of 184 beds, SAKINA delivers over one million care hours annually, to ensure access to world-class mental health care across the Abu Dhabi Emirate.
Dr Ahmed outlined SAKINA's three-pillar approach, saying: "The first pillar is awareness and prevention. SAKINA leads extensive community outreach, engaging stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to raise awareness of mental health.
"Efforts focus on correcting myths, reducing stigma, and sharing evidence-based information to help individuals maintain psychological and emotional well-being.
"SAKINA promotes proactive care by introducing screening for mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, perinatal depression, autism and dementia. Through robust screening, we can provide interventions early in course of illness and prevent worse outcomes.
"The second pillar is high-quality, accessible care, which, emphasises delivering excellent care wherever people are. SAKINA continues to integrate psychiatry and psychology services across various healthcare settings, bringing mental health support to the forefront of medical practice.
"SAKINA is also committed to providing cutting edge approaches in mental health services from new and innovative modalities such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Esketamine in refractory illnesses to PURA-based virtual access to self-care and clinical care in the palm of their hands.
"We inculcate research studies into our operations to optimise the learning experience and set standards based on clinical evidence."
The third pillar is functional recovery. "For me, if a patient is symptom-free, that is not the end goal," Dr Ahmed said. "Symptom relief is care, but true cure means the patient can return to their psychosocial roles and lead a meaningful, productive life.
Dr Ahmed concluded: "And that is the ethos of SAKINA, to provide every individual an access to purposeful and dignified life."
